When are paranoid gun-owners going to take up arms against the government?

About this blog

Pat Cunningham offers an unabashedly liberal perspective on national politics. A note of caution: The language gets a little salty on some of the sites to which this blog links. So, don't say you weren't warned. By the way, this blog's name is
...

Pat Cunningham offers an unabashedly liberal perspective on national politics. A note of caution: The language gets a little salty on some of the sites to which this blog links. So, don't say you weren't warned. By the way, this blog's name is inspired by the Will Rogers quote, \x34All politics is applesauce.\x34 In 41 years as a print and broadcast journalist, most of those years with the Rockford (Ill.) Register Star, Pat has covered national politics under eight American presidents. He's attended 10 national political conventions, Republican and Democratic alike, and has interviewed countless prominent political players, including Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush.

Several times in the past month, I’ve addressed here the notion among some Americans that the Second Amendment is intended mainly as a safeguard against an oppressive government.

It’s time, I think, to raise that issue again.

As you may have noticed, the breast-beating among certain firearms enthusiasts in this country has grown increasingly fierce since the start of the new year, especially as the political push for serious gun control has become more earnest.

On talk radio, in the comment threads on Internet Web sites and at almost every other turn, the boasts of self-styled protectors of the Second ...